The Dog go a proctology exam from an izuzu rodeo....

[Morphious]

The Dog got a proctology exam from an izuzu rodeo....

Had a fun evening today, got assended by an izuzu rodeo from some bozo from conneticut in a rental car. All in all the dog handled it fairly well, had my quad in the back, so the tailgate too the brunt of the beating. The reciever hitch is pointing down now, so I think it bent the frame, the passenger side looks about 2 inches lower than the drivers side, pushed the bumber into the bed, and shoved the quad up into my 100 gallon transfer tank and it into the front of the bed and bowed the front of the bed towards the cab. So, off to the body shop I go, and probably in search of a lawyer also. Just what I needed.



Morph.

 

[TomGolden]

Morph,



Sorry to hear about your unfortunate encounter. Hope all will soon be well.



So, did they bring out a magnet to pick up all the tiny fragments of the Isuzu



Tom

 

[Morphious]

The rodeo was about a foot and a half shorter, with the bumper under my truck laying on the ground, large chunks of headlights in front of my truck, and I had to pull forward to get it off of my reciever hitch. I hit my brakes hard when I saw him comming, so I would not get the double whammie of hitting the car in front of me also. Needless to say, he slammed into a brick wall, my truck didn't even move.



Morph.

 

[Bigsaint]

Sorry to hear Morph !!!!



Scott W.

 

[MidwestMotorman]

post

There was a post about three weeks back from someone else (fellow with a big white ram) who had the exact same kind of damage. Lots of discussion on other damaged parts (rear end) and other legal help. Check it out, as it may be a big help.

 

[John Berger]

That sucks. Really sorry to hear about your misfortune. I've been in this situation before, but not with this truck. Wrecked my conversion van and my wife's Neon in the same accident Needless to say, that was a bad weekend. I hope you get it all ironed out and get the truck fixed. It's always easy to give advice from afar, but maybe you should have let off the brakes before Joe Isuzu hit you. Could have lessened the impact shock on your vehicle and cut down on the damage. As heavy as you are, you may not have moved far enough forward to hit the vehicle in front of you. Sorry for the back seat driving, just an observation. I'm glad you weren't hurt. Your truck did it's job: It protected you.

 

[SOLER]

Sorry

Sorry to hear, Morph. That sucks. It's times like these that I wish I still drove my '70 Olds more often. Several years ago, I was in a head-on collision with a Toy pickup. I got a cracked grill (plastic) and three dings in my bumper. He got a wiped out front end, two mangled fenders, a drivers door that would barely open, and a passenger door that wouldn't open. He also gave me a present. When I got home, I noticed a lot of broken glass and plastic in the bottom of my bumper--all of his lights and stuff!!



Again, sorry Morph. Hey, did you happen to see me fly over today? It was about 1:45. I flew right over the Micky-Dees on 412.



SOLER

 

[MidwestMotorman]

crashes

SOLER... that Vista Cruiser has got to weigh as much as your Ram. I feel sorry for anyone who has to collide with either, but that Olds was made in the day of real STEEL!!!

 

[Morphious]

Here are some pics, got the truck and me checked out today, My mid and lower back are screwed up, along with neck and knee. Got around 10 xrays. Got three different estimates, and man were they different. One was for 2300. 00 dollars, one for 3500. 00 dollars and one for 4600. 00 dollars. The frame is bent, or a slight tweak as the body shops called it, I don't care, the frame is bent and will never be the same. I am worried now as I use this truck to pull very heavy trailers, bumper, gooseneck and soon to be 5th wheel trailers. Two of the body shops just want to bend the frame back to sqaure and patch the bed up, the third wants to cut the frame and put a replacement section on the back half. Has anyone else had any good luck in a work truck that gets abused on the farm with frame straightening?



Morph.



#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad

 

[Joe Mc]

NO CUT THE FRAME!!!!

Morph,



Sorry bout the accident, hope your back, neck & etc. are better soon. Watch those Doctors, and lie-ors. If your back is bothering you demand a Chiropractic adjustment or 5. If you've never been to one they work wonders, of course just like anything else (Mechanics, Body shops) finding the right one is key.



As far as damage to your truck, based on what I can tell from the pics looks like the tail gate is a gonner & needs to be replaced, the front of the bed re-squared, new receiver & hich, bumper etc. You mentioned one shop that wants to cut and replace the frame section, I would really be concerned with that process. I would rather see it on a frame alignment rack and "cold bent" back to factory spec's. Be very clear with your adjuster and the shop as far as what are the "allowable tollerances" when returning the frame to it's original shape. If you have a shop manual it lists measurements and points that should be measured. If you don't have one the shop should. Ask to see it before they start any work. Make sure a 4 wheel alignment is conducted prior to you receiving it, and insist on receiving before and after print out readings. If they try to give you any bull on the report, lost it, it's at the shop, "whatever" tell them you won't receive the truck untill that is in your hands. MAke them send it back if need be! Make sure you get at least a 1 year on all parts, workmanship and labor. Remember take no bull, you are the customer and also, the boss of your insurance company - after all you pay their salry. Ain't it a bit_ _ you have to remind people you are the boss? Take no CRAP! it's your baby being repaired. LEt them know you can be theri best customer or their worst nightmare then give em a big ol` smile. It works.



Regardless, hope everything works out for you, oh yeah insist on nothing but OEM body parts/panels etc. Because there is some real garbage replacement stuff out their. Ask for reciepts, visit the shop daily, let them know you intend to and ask questions a lot of questions.



Joe Mc

 

[SOLER]

Ditto

What he(Joe Mc) said!



I hope your frame gets bent back okay!



SOLER

 

[MidwestMotorman]

some pointers

Well, this is going to be a somewhat long post, be forewarned.



Are any of those estimates from a D-C dealership? I would get one or two from them. You will need some things replaced.



Tires... did they skid on the pavement? Count on getting four new ones if they did.



Hitch. . You MUST have a new one, and do not forget the extra cost for the factory reinforcement towing hitch brackets that are part of the recall (which I hope you had done). Also count on all new mounting hardware as well.



I would not count on needing the frame straightened until that bed comes off or is completely loose. The body will hold the frame out of position vertically when the body is bent. The frame will flex a lot. The body will flex and not return as far because the frame is designed to flex vertically, and the body is not. The hitch should come off as well because that can hold the frame out of position.



Count on the extra time to remove your fuel cell and box. How else can you fix the front of the box and the back of the cab? The cell should come out anyway and be inspected for damage. If you have two compartments, the unbalanced load from side to side can cause the truck to sit funny and someone can bend the frame out of position instead of into postition. Being the factory tank is on that side as well, it too should be inspected.



Whoever wants to cut and weld the frame is nuts. Dodge frames are hard and can crack if welded. I believe you can replace one whole side of rail from front to rear, but that is as bad as replacing the whole frame. You can cold bend them, but if they show any sign of crack of weakness, that is it.



I would be worried about cracking a pinion gear tooth or ring gear tooth. The force of impact will hit hard on the one spot of contact betwwen gears. Another member here was hit from the rear and he had to have it replaced a few weeks later after the body was fixed. Your brakes may have held the rear solid, but you were forced around some.



Keep track of all expenses medical wise. Pain/suffering and personal injury claims are much easlier with documentation. Your medical bills will still be piling up months down the road due to chiropractic visits and any other ailment due to damge to your back and knee.



When the fixing part is done, make sure you watch what is going on with your truck and how it is being repaired. Do not accept any money in advance of work from the insurance company, as other things will be found bad.



If the truck is totalled, you can by it back, but there is no warranty from Cummins or Dodge after it is a salvage title. If the frame is found to be bad enough to total the vehicle, do not be foolish enough to think it can be repaired once you buy it back.



Remember that this is your vehicle, and you tow with it. Your life and the lives of countless others can be injured if the repair fails. Your own insurance company can be a big help, as your liability (and your insurance company) will be on the line if anything happens down the road. Ever see the damage a loose gooseneck or tandem trailer will do after it breaks free from the truck, especially when it hits somebody head on???



I am a certified bodyman myself, and I always look out for the customer. Find a shop you trust to get the job done right. If the frame cracks or shows stress, the repairer must stand up and let someone know. The other party's insurance company will raise hell, but that is too bad. I love my truck dearly, but if it was ever wrecked bad enough to crack the frame, I would not hesitate to cut it in two myself. I have seen people who should have known better try and fix something just for the sake of money. There are too many sue-happy people, and personal liability cases bring settlements in the millions of dollars.



Sorry for the seriousness of the post, but this one hits home. If your frame is bent, make sure it is fully inspected the entire length for stress both from the accident and from the repair.



I told you this post was going to be long, almost an hours worth of typing.

 

[Morphious]

Thanks for the input all, here are responses:



No, none of the estimates were from DC, they don't do body/accident work around where I live.



Tires are fine, have not seen any bald spots on them, the dog held it's ground when it was hit, if I did not have the brakes on, I would have hit the vehicle in front of me, was only about 4 or so foot of distance between my B. A. B. and their little car, impact would have def. shove me into them and could have hurt them pretty bad due to my non forgiving nature of the B. A. B. The only bald spots are on the rear tires and that is from, um, well, daily driving... .



The bed will be removed, and never put back on the truck, I am having a custom build steel bed built for it and it will be installed on the dog after this mess is over. So all of the repairs that will be done at a body shop are frame. I am hoping that the frame is really straight and the bed is the cause, but I know how my luck goes.



I would not even think about having the frame cut and a new section put in, just does not appeal to me in the least. I grew up on the farm and have been around abused trucks all my life and know the kind of loads that I carry, the cut and replace frame would not hold up.



The fuel tank will be removed and will take me about 2 hours or so to do that, already planned on that. I have got to figure out where to take the tank to get it checked out, and see if the baffles are still intact.



The hitch and all of it's components are bye-bye, all new from DC will be put on the truck with oem equipment (and even the braces (already had that done)).



Had not thought about the rear end, must have slipped my mind.



I already have a notebook started and am used to keeping reciepts and such for my farm and consulting biz.



Yes, the liability of future problems concerns me greatly, I drive the truck 160+ miles a day for work, plus hauling expensive farm equipment and many tons of hay. And I have seen where people have lost trailers and it is not pretty. That has me worried most about all this, possible failures in the future.





Sorry for the long post, but I ache and cannot sleep, what really sucks is that I cannot lift more that 10-15lbs for a couple of weeks to let my back heal up, and going to NC to see my boys tomarrow for the weekend, only get to see them every couple of weeks as it is, now I can't pick them up, just sucks right now.



Thanks all,



Morph.